Realtor Remy appointed to Columbus Council to replace Klein

The Columbus City Council appointed Emmanuel V. Remy as its seventh member on Monday.

Remy, 45, a real estate agent, is president of the Northland Community Council. He will replace Zach Klein, the former council president who was elected city attorney in November.

The council term runs through the end of 2019. Remy will be sworn in at a later, as-yet-undetermined date, though he is expected to be seated before the next council meeting on Jan. 22.

“I think it’s a phenomenal team, and I look forward to the opportunity to work side by side,” he said of the other council members. “There’s a lot of work ahead, but I’m excited to be a part of the team.”

Remy was one of 13 finalists culled from a list of 36 applicants for the position. He had been considered a front-runner for the appointment for months among City Hall insiders.

He beat out several finalists who have made that cut before as well as newcomers who received outside support. Local labor unions advocated for Rob Dorans, an attorney for the Affiliated Construction Trades of Ohio.

Local activists supporting a faction of the local Democratic Party rallied outside City Hall before the meeting to rail against the city’s appointment process for open council seats while calling for the council to approve Jasmine Ayres, who finished fourth in a field race for three council seats in November. Members of Yes We Can have opposed appointments because its members say it gives incumbent council members an unfair advantage in their election campaigns. Remy said he plans to campaign for the seat in 2019.

Yes We Can members also were upset Monday that the council did not set aside an opportunity for public comment before the appointment, the first item on the council’s agenda.

Council President Shannon G. Hardin said the council received public input about who should be appointed in the months since the election and that it traditionally has not opened up for public comment during the meeting in which it plans to appoint a member.

“It has not been part of our process,” he said.

Remy said public safety and working with the city’s growing immigrant communities will be among his biggest priorities. He has been a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker King Thompson since 2011 but has become best known for his work on the Northland Community Council.

“Northland is a big part of the city of Columbus, but it’s not just Northland. It’s an understanding of all the needs of the city of Columbus,” he said. “I spent a lot of time over the last few years trying to understand what exactly ... the needs are for the community.”

Hardin said he hopes Remy can help the council replicate some of the work he has done in Northland, working with area commissions and civic associations.

“He complements this council very well,” he said. “He understands working together.”

The council also voted Monday to spend about $214.2 million on health insurance programs for more than 8,000 city employees in 2018. That’s up from about $195.7 million in 2017. Rising health-care costs are to blame, said Nichole M. Brandon, city human-resources director.

The city has tried to control its costs by altering its plans, including asking employees to pay higher co-pays and deductibles, she said.